Currents of the Force
by Qyygle
Summary: What would happen if a Jedi, in the midst of fleeing from Order 66 happened to end up in another galaxy... one where yet another Rebellion is growing against a Mad King not too different from the Emperor he had just escaped from?...
1. Chapter 1: Prelude

I always wanted to write a Star Wars Crossover fanfic, but I never really got the mind to go and do it… finally I started this one… It's my first and so probably horrid, and I also am far too lazy to do adequate research for this so if you find any discrepancies do tell… I like critical reviews, so please feel free to bash me… just not too hard, this is my first story.

I OWN ABSOLUTELY NOTHING… well, maybe except for a few character names I made up, but other than that NOTHING!!

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Chapter 1

Near the end of Episode III

The _Valorous_ slipped through hyperspace with a silent rumble. Transporting the veteran 35th Republic Marines, the Cruiser was heading to reinforce the Republic 11th Fleet blockading the Separatist stronghold of Woriane. For months, the 35th had been fighting across the galaxy, protecting vulnerable worlds that had not been assigned permanent garrisons due to lack of manpower. Even with the massive Kaminoan Clone army the Republic Navy was having trouble keeping back ever increasing droid forays into Republic space. The war that had been raging for years was reaching a devastating climax, and sooner or later, one side would break.

"Ok, try and hold still sir; this will only take a minute." The clone medic brought up the syringe of pale blue fluid and with practiced precision, stuck it into Bryan's arm with a quick jab. "Gah! Did you really have to stick me so hard Jarvis?" General Cai jumped off the medical cot and massaged his arm with his free hand while smirking at his friend and current doctor. "Really General? After having survived the explosion and decompression of that corvette, you complain about a little needle?" the medic noted as the General frowned and poked his arm.

Bryans winced as he thought back to the disastrous attempt to negotiate with the Separatist Mercenaries blockading Tryian a few days back. After failing to be convinced to pull out of the system, the pirates had then fired on the Jedi Corvette and severely damaged it. Bryans and his crew barely made it back to the ship with enough oxygen to live. However, with the_ Valorous_'s medical wing swamped with casualties from the battle on-planet, the Jedi had foregone treatment for his wounds so that those with more serious injuries could be taken care of first. But now that most of the men had been patched up, Bryans found himself back under the watchful eye of the ship's primary doctor again.

"I've cleaned up most of your deeper cuts and also injected a few melts for your fractured arm. It should be fine in a few days as long as you don't get blown up again."

"Thanks Doc, I'll try to keep out of the way next time…"

"Sure you will, like you did that other time on Darian. Must say you Jedi do heal faster than anyone else I've ever seen though…"

Bryans just grinned and waved as he walked out of the Medical Wing "Sure thing Doc!..." Finding a lift, he soon walked onto the _Valorous's_ bridge.

During the last battle, a Tri-fighter had slammed into the sensor array on the Acclamator's top-deck and knocked out long range communication. As a result, the men aboard the ship had not been in contact with High Command since entering hyperspace. "Captain Hans, what's state of communications? Have the engineers managed to fix the sensors yet?"

"Ahh… No general, the impact seared the main dish entirely off and blew what was left to scrap so we'll need to replace the entire array."

"… Right then, try and raise the 11th using the short range when we're out of hyperspace. They'll probably want us in some sector or another and maybe we can find a spare somewhere too"

"Yes sir, we should be arriving in a few moments."

"Captain, 20 seconds to normal space revision!" called out the nav. officer from his post near the main view-screen. "Alright then lieutenant, revert when ready." As Bryans and Hans watched, the mesmerizing blue of hyperspace suddenly shot back into an eerie blackness sprinkled with twinkles of stars. Arrayed in front of them were the massive cruisers and ships of the 11th Fleet, holding position around Woriane. Hundreds of Venators, Acclamators, and swarms of star-fighters presented a daunting obstacle to any Separatist attempt at escaping the planet.

"General, receiving transmission from the Flagship _Adamantine_ sir"

"Good, bring it up on the main screen."

The holo-projector in the middle of the room flickered and suddenly burst into the image of a helmeted clone commander. The clone looked over to Captain Hans and then started for a second as he took note of General Bryans. "This is Commander Eitt here _Valorous._"

"Good day Commander, this is Captain Hans of the _Valorous_. We've been sent from the Tryian System to assist in your attack."

"Yes Captain Hans, we're glad to have you here. We'll send a party to inform you of our current situation… Our words may be monitored by Separatist hackers; we've been having trouble keeping them out of our comm. lines." The Commander looked off screen for a moment and conversed with someone not in view of the holo-projector, then turned back. "Our men are taking off now; prepare to let them in your hanger. Commander Eitt signing off." And with that, the projection shut off.

"Odd welcome." said Bryans as both men turned to walk to the hanger.

"Well, maybe he was worried the tin-heads were listening at the time", replied Hans. "He could have at least addressed me too."

"Hah. What? Your non-existent pride is smarting from not having been saluted by a random commander?"

"Well that was just rather, odd…" Bryans pushed his doubts down as he moved towards the lift, but he couldn't help but feel a strange chill creep down his back… something was wrong, and by the Force, he had a strange feeling he would soon find out what…

The Varden Camp

Shortly after the siege of Feinster, Alagaësia

The remaining Imperial soldiers were slowly rooted out of the now, primarily Varden controlled city. The rebels had taken Feinster with moderate casualties and with the help of Eragon and Arya's timely intervention had prevented the use of a Shade by 3 of Galbatorix's magicians. Now, the Varden were focusing on occupying and preparing Feinster for possible counterattack from Galbatorix's numerous regiments thought to be roaming the country. Tired men dragged out tents and set up patrols around the massive city walls, preparing for a long night…

Eragon walked back to his tent slowly, absorbed in thought. The meeting with Nasuada had been relieving, but now his days of traveling and the fight with the Shade before were catching up with him and he needed to rest.

_Eragon, where are you now? _Saphira, his sapphire blue dragon and closest friend called over the mental link they shared.

_I'm heading over to my tent, can you meet me outside?_

_Alright little one, I'll try and not knock over any tents when I land…_

Eragon grinned to himself as he tried to imagine the looks on the Varden soldiers who'd been unfortunate enough to pitch their tents too close to the preferred landing site of a dragon. Hopefully they wouldn't be too mad.

He just managed to reach his tent in time to see Saphira land in front of it with a huge _whoosh_ of air. The surrounding tents rippled with the massive air disturbances, swaying dangerously, but luckily for the startled men inside, stayed up.

_Nice one Saphira, but you could have made a little less noise…_

_Ha, it's not my fault that there's not enough space between this silly dwellings. I am a dragon, not a pet dog, and won't go tiptoe around just to be quiet._

_Ok, I was just saying… we're probably not the only ones tired beyond belief today…_

Eragon ducked into his tent and threw off most of his armor before throwing himself on the bed.

_Goodnight Saphira,_

_Goodnight little one._

And without further thought, he fell asleep…

As the noises Varden camp slowly wound down and the troops retired, the skies above Alagaësia suddenly flashed with a massive disturbance. Far above normal sight, a flaming ship suddenly jumped out of thin-air and started a burning decent to the surface of the planet. Huge chunks of metal and machinery fell from the devastated vessel, yet somehow, it managed to slow its fall a bit before impacting ocean just a few leagues north of Feinster. To Varden lookouts, it seemed as though a comet had struck the ocean, but unseen to their eyes, a lone figure struggled out of the surf and then collapsed onto the sand.

Bryan Cai had barely managed to jump from the battered CR-20 before it's fiery end in the waves before him. Landing in the water had felt like hitting a permacrete wall and given about the same results. The tide had fortunately carried him close enough to shore, otherwise he'd have surely drowned, and he weakly swam the rest of the way. After dragging himself out of the sea, he'd fallen onto the sand, unconscious.

_Shhhhhhhh…… csshhhhhhh…._

Bryan's eyes registered a blinding light as he slowly came to.

_What the hell… am I dead?._ As he sat up and felt the soft sand under his hands, he remembered what had happened the night before.

After having walked into the hanger, he'd waited with Captain Hans for the Carrier from the _Adamantine _to land its party. A contingent of 35th marines had lined up in ranks to receive the visitors. The ramp came down to reveal a clone captain and his guard striding towards the assembled men.

"Welcome aboard the _Valorous_ captain. How has the blockade been going?" asked Bryan as he walked forward to meet the clone.

The trooper paused for a moment and cocked his head. His men fanned out on his sides as he put a hand to his comlink.

"I'm sorry sir, but you're going to have to come with us." As he said this, the clones spread out on his flanks raised their blasters, taking aim at Bryans and Hans. The marines of the 35th yelled out and raised their own weapons while Hans drew his pistol.

"What are you doing man?! We're here to help your blockade!"

"Order 66 has commenced and all Jedi are to be disposed of immediately", answered the armored clone, expression unreadable behind his visor.

To this the Captain stopped, shock registering in his eyes, "Order 66?... That's impossible… I'm ordering you to Stand Down soldier! The Jedi have fought alongside us in the war since the start! They've been our greatest allies in time of need! Why are they being arrested?!?"

All clone soldiers are trained to obey orders without protest or debate, but the men of the 35th, after having spent years in space alone had formed bonds beyond those of the strict Kaminoan training regimes. Watched their brothers fight and die with only the support of a lone Jedi who often took enormous risk to save lives, had created a hard respect which no orders from an uncaring emperor watching from the sidelines would ever trump. They would stand by their general's side or die.

"If you do not lower your weapons, you will all be considered traitors of the Republic and dealt with accordingly, now stand down and comply with our orders!"

When the marines did not drop their blasters, the commander took a step back and raised his blaster, a slight nod of the head was all the warning he gave, and suddenly, everyone opened fire.

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yay... this must be the 3rd time I've edited this chapter...


	2. Chapter 2: More Prelude? Baah

Horay, Chapter 2... i think... Thanks for the review Jedi472... yeah, I'm gonna have to work on dialogue a bit but the out of characterness may be because I simply have no idea how to describe the characters... or that I haven't re-read the inheritance series for a while. I'm fantastically lazy though so sorry for any lack of detail. This is probably the last bit of intro. I'm hoping to actually get into some action after this. :D

It's nice to know that ppl actually are reading my story though, yes, victory!

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Before the first blast even shot from a muzzle, the Force had nudged Bryan to draw his lightsaber. By the time it had fully exited from its blaster, he'd already activated his saber, and pulled it up into a defensive posture just in time to send it back to its shooter.

The blue bolt deflected off the plasma blue of his blade and shot back at the clone captain, who only dodged it because he was already diving for cover behind the CR-20 the squad had come in on. The rest of his guards had opened fire at the rest of the assembly and now there was a fire-fight going full tilt in the hanger.

Blue armored marines crouched behind supply crates and whatever cover they could find, while popping up to take potshots at their red-plated counterparts. Captain Hans was kneeling behind a parked V-19 and blasting at what he could see of the other captain. In the middle of this all, Jedi Knight Bryans was weaving his lightsaber in a mad dance of blasterfire and ion-streams.

"Hans! Call in 2nd squad and have them flank around from the rear hanger doors!"

"Yes Cai!" Hans ducked down behind the cockpit of the Torrent narrowly avoiding a blasterbolt from a red guard. "2nd Marines! We're under attack from our 'visitors'! Come in from the rear doors in Hall 2 and give us some covering fire!" Hans clicked off his comlink and drew his second blaster. Standing abruptly, he fired a volley of shots at an unfortunate guard who'd been aiming at another marine. The man staggered back with several burning holes in his armor and slumped against a crate. All around, the battle was going the same way. The greatly outnumbered guard was being cut down with precision bursts from the battle hardened Marines and they wouldn't last for much longer.

"Fall back to the transport!" yelled the clone captain as he burst from cover and sprinted for the landing ramp. The remaining guard rose and ran for the ramp while keeping a suppressive fire on the Marines.

"Don't let them take off! The rest of the fleet will be after our asses!" shouted Captain Hans. The marines broke cover to pursue, but there was no way for them to reach the carrier in time. The guards were already too close to the transport. The Captain flicked his comlink again and called the bridge. "C-2718! Jam all transmission coming out of the hanger! Close the hanger bay!"

"_Sir? Is there a prob_…" "Don't question, just do it!" and he cut the line.

Just as the clone commander reached the ramp of the CR-20, the Marine 2nd squad burst through the doors directly behind the ship and fired off a huge volley of blaster bolts. The retreating guards were caught by surprise and wiped out as both groups of marines opened fire from either side.

The clone commander had just managed to retreat into the relative cover of the CR-20 when a blue-white blade flew across the hanger and dismembered him. His helmet, with head still inside dropped to the deck of the transport and rolled down the ramp while his body followed shortly after. The saber flew back and deactivated as it smacked into Bryans outstretched hand. The entire hanger was now covered with scorched blaster marks and the smell of burnt flesh and metal. Red and blue armored bodies lay sprawled all over motionless, in contorted and awkward positions.

The fight was over.

"Well… that was messy." He silently quipped as he replaced the sword on his belt.

With the sudden silence, the impact of what had just happened started sinking in. The Jedi were being hunted all across the galaxy and wiped out. "General… what are your plans now sir?" Captain Hans asked his longtime friend. "Well Captain…I seem to be a danger to you and your crew… and as you have now risked your lives to protect me, you will be counted amongst us as well. The only way out of this I can see, would be to turn myself in…"

"No, we won't let you throw your life away for nothing Bryans! No, not after Darian, not after Runia, not after all those worlds and battles we've been through together. Isn't that right marines?" "OOhrah!" yelled the marines assembled before the Jedi and Captain.

"Captain, I am only one man, I know that we've all been through much, but I won't let an entire Regiment be sacrificed for me."

Looking over to the blaster scorched transport sitting in the hanger, Bryans smirked as a plan formed in his mind.

"Captain, I think I've got an idea…"

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A few hours later, after having said his goodbyes to Captain Hans and the men he'd served beside for years, Knight Bryans found himself in the cockpit of the CR-20 stolen from the ill-fated squad that had tried to apprehend him before. The 35th had been ordered to claim that the Jedi had met the boarding party alone and supposable killed them all. Then, he'd escaped using their transport and fled to hyperspace. At least that had been the plan, and it should have gone well, save for a slight misfortune. Bryans had run into a patrol of ARC-170's just after exiting the _Valorous_'s hanger. Now, with his escape route cut off, Bryans was preparing to try his last option.

"_This is Beta Patrol to Shuttle 324, stand down immediately and prepare to be boarded!"_

_Yeah… stand down my ass,_ thought Bryans as he rapidly keyed a coordinate for a remote system in the outer rim.

Just as he started to pull back on the hyperspace levers, the shuttle rocked with a massive explosion. The ARC-170 pilot had realized what was happening and decided to fire and destroy the shuttle before it could escape. With the engines damaged right before hyperspace, the ship just barely made it into transit and ended up missjumping. He was lucky that he survived at all.

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After using the morning to force-heal the majority of his wounds and scrapes, Bryans struck out to find the city he'd spotting during his harrowingly fast decent. Walking along the edge of the shore, he suddenly picked up the presence of a group of humans following him from the cover of the forest bordering the shoreline. _Odd, this world also has humans on it… yet there doesn't seem to be any hint of space faring technology, or any technology at that… I wonder where the hell I am…_

Stopping his stride, he notes as the trailing presences also pause. Without turning to look for them, he sits down on a piece of driftwood and pulls his viroblade from his boot. The minds of the men watching him suddenly turn hostile as they notice the knife blade in his hands. Picking up a smaller piece of wood, Bryan then proceeded to start whittle…

"You can come out if you'd like, I'm not exactly dangerous or anything." Bryan calls out as he starts carving a bird he'd seen fly past earlier.

The minds behind him pause, with some doubt and curiosity as the men debated what to do with some confusion, then they eventually fell into the same state.

"Ok, we'll come out, but you'd better not try anything funny or this arrows going straight into your back!"

_What kind of place did I crash in??? Arrows? These people haven't even invented basic slug throwers yet, much less blasters and starships._

But Bryans quickly threw this thought out of his mind as he considered, _Well, at least this means that the Republic probably doesn't know about this place, so I should be safe enough here…_

He turned his head to see five men, armored with primitive leather tunics and chain mail carrying various bladed weapons along with drawn bows. Things he'd never actually seen used outside of museum exhibits on Corusant.

"So… nice weather isn't it?" he attempted to make conversation.

"Who are you and what are you doing this far outside the walls of Feinster… assuming ye actually be from Feinster?" the man who seemed to be leading the group asked, as he kept his bow drawn and raised.

Like it would have done him much help if he'd actually tried to attack. Yet, there was a strange aura surrounding this one in the force, like the feeling Bryan had once when he'd seen the Chosen One, Skywalker… but there was something different about this one…

"I'm… not from around here. My… ship was wrecked and I was stranded a day ago so I've been wandering along the shoreline, trying to find another soul. Do you have any idea how unappetizing seashells are? Looks like I've finally found some friends though!" Bryan said with a grin, and then stared at Roran cross-eyed "The bow pointed at my face isn't really befriending…"

Roran Stronghammer lowered his bow with some relief (he wasn't really practiced with it anyway…) "Ahh, so it's just another lost soul among a sea of them eh?" He held out a hand and Bryan shook it. "We're part of the Varden camp at Feinster. Been patrolling these woods for past few days trying to discourage any Imperial advances towards the city."

Bryan looked at him with a blank, confused expression on his face.

"Do you not know what I'm talking about?... You surely know what the Varden are do you?..." Roran asked with a bemused feeling. When Bryans still didn't answer, his look turned to disbelief.

"Really? You've never heard of the Varden? You might as well tell me you have no idea who King Galbatorix is and what Dragons are!"

"I have no idea _what_ you're talking about." Bryan said.

"Whaat!?? This better not be some sort of silly joke, I've no patience to deal with a bore or prankster now!" started Roran. "Woah! Woah, calm down now," Bryan said with practiced calm "I told you, I'm new around here. Just landed in the middle of nowhere and have no clue what, when, where, and how. Could you kindly explain what is happening? Who is this King? What Dragons are these that you're talking about?"

Roran shook his held and rubbed his eyes… "Ok… Horst, take..."

"Bryans… Bryan Cai"

"Right, take Bryans back to our camp and find someone who's willing to fill him in about, well, about everything."

The big, built man standing off to Roran's side stepped forward and gestured for Bryan to follow him. Bryans strode forward to follow him, but then paused and poked his stomach as it gave a low grumble. Wincing a little, he asked "Uhh… do you happen to have any food on you?... I'm kinda, hungry."

At this Horst broke into a smile and the rest of the group burst into chuckles.

"Alright Bryan, we'll see what we can get ye once we reach camp."

The small group then set off towards the city with a new member among their ranks, and unbeknown to them, a friend they would come to appreciate in the coming days.

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Yep, that's my second sad attempt at writing a story. Plz review... I swear, it can only get better right?... I'm thinking of making the Force the same thing as magic, and Jedi control of Force similar to how Dragons use magic, instinctive or something like that... bwhahahaha

oh, and just to verify, Captain Hans is navy, and the clone captain was army, so there's a difference of rank even though they're both called Captains... I think navy outranks army on this... not too sure though.


	3. Chapter 3: Basic Training

**Yep... chapter 3. Sorry about the long wait an whatnot (and the horrible quality of this chapter...) but school, SAT's, PSAT's and general mayhem crushed all time I had to work on this idea of mine.**

I think I'm going to try and write this story mostly from the perspective of the Varden Footsoldiers (i.e my own characters), as personally, it's much easier than trying to impersonate characters that are already well established and, it offers a different view of the Trilogy... It also makes writing this story much easier, but shhhh! nobody's suppose to know that!

**Anyway, enough moaning, Chapter 3!  
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As a Guardsman of the Varden 2nd Infantry Battalion, Laura Ertrha found herself on sentry duty after the fall of Fienster. Guarding the gates was a tedious and boring post, having to check every person who walked in or out, and Laura was getting listless. "Halt, and identify yourselves!" she called out for what seemed to be the hundredth time this day, as a small group came within range of hearing.

"Come now Laura, shouldn't you be able to tell your commanding officer from one of Galbatorix's scum by now?" yelled back Roran as he and the rest of the party came up to the makeshift fortifications erected before the city gates.

"You're the one who insists I keep tabs on every soul who comes through this point" Laura retorted back at her officer, with hand resting on her sword-hilt. "Who's that with you?"  
"Oh, this lad here?" Horst came up behind Bryan, who up till this point had been silently nursing his ever-growling stomach, and gave him a great clap on the back "We found him wandering the shoreline a few miles north".

"Ahh!... aw common Horst, did you really need to do that? I'm still hungry here by the way. Could anyone point me to the nearest cantina?"

Laura raised an eyebrow at the strange word use. She turned back to Roran "So you want me to get him checked out by the Grata now?"

"Aye, find him something to eat along the way too, less you want to be moaned out of mind and soul before you get anywhere." Roran smiled and then turned to Bryan.

"Just follow Lar here and she'll get you cleared with the higher ups before finding you a place to stay. Unless that is, you've decided to join us in fighting Galbatorix…"

Suddenly in Bryans mind, flew forth memories of distant battles and conflicts far, far away... "I think I've seen… enough war as it is…" replied Bryans as a mist came over his eyes…

_Odd person this one is…_ though Laura as she grabbed Bryans by the arm. "Come on then, let's get you to the Reader's hut." "Reader? What's that?..." Bryans snapped out of his trance and slipped his arm out of Laura's grip.

"The Reader, it's usually Erman at this time so don't worry, he's nice with his touch, Not like that creep Fordon or Wintha." "Wait… what are these people going to do and why?" Bryan stopped and held his hands up as though he could fend back whatever his imagination was conjuring by physically pushing it away.

"The Reader. One of the Du Vrangr Grata, a magician, who's to check the mind of each new outsider we bring into the Varden. Don't worry, they'll take a quick look through your memories to make sure you're not an agent of Galbatorix or associated with him."

_Magician? Like a Force User? Oh __Dar'yaim__… now I'm in the Rancor Pit… I can't let them know what I've seen and done. They'll think I'm mad… or a spy… _Bryan desperately tried to think of some solution to get out of the mind reading before they reached the Reader. _Oh __Fierfek__, I don't want to have to use the Force on this Reader, especially if they have some sort of Force control beyond even Master Yoda's powers! _Looking up, Bryan only just realized that they were already at the hut. Sitting at a spare table was a small, thin man who looked to be in his mid-forties. Yet Bryan did not sense the Force around him at all. Slightly confused and curious now, Bryan followed Laura as she walked up to the table and slapped her sword on the tabletop. "Heya Erman!"

The man looked up from the huge book he was leafing through and squinted at her. "Laura, do you always have to make such a fright when you bring another visitor, or is it just me you torture?" "Nope, it's always like this." Laura responded easily. Erman frowned, and looked over at Bryans, who was hovering in the background gauging him silently. "So, you're the one who needs to be cleared this time? Alright come here…" Erman gestured for Bryan to come up to the desk and then laid a hand on his forehead. Whispering a few words, his palm started to glow a strange blue-white. Abruptly, Bryan felt the Force pull around him and smother him like a blanket. It swirled around them and then moved to flow through Ermans arm and into his mind, like a cool liquid filling his head. Acting quickly, before it could cover his thoughts completely he concentrated within himself, feeling the calm that always came through tapping the Force. Then, grasping it with his mind, he shifted the direction of the sweep. Clearing his thoughts, he emptied himself of everything and fell into a deep meditation as he'd once done so many times in a familiar temple, galaxies away…

The two stood still and silent for long time, as though they'd turned into statues in the fading sunlight. Finally, Erman broke contact with Bryan and moved his hand away. With a flicker of confusion on his face, he looked up at Bryan who was still stone still and unmoving.

"Well, is he clean?" Laura was still leaning with one arm on the table, enthralled with boredom. "Yes… I did not find anything wrong..." Erman began, with a slight pause. "So he's clean?" Erman paused again. "In certain respects…"

"Right then, I've still got to take him to the recruiting office, so catch you later Erman!" She grabbed Bryan and broke him out his trance for the second time this day. "Hey! Where're you taking me now?" Bryan barely had time to yelp before Laura literally dragged him down a quick succession of roads and walkways. "To the Recruiters you idiot."

"Wait, recruiter? When did I agree to fight anyone's war here?" At this Laura turned and dropped him. "Then why are you here? You're not here to join the Varden?"

"Yeah… Did you forget already?? I'm here because I cr… I mean… I was stranded here when my ship was wrecked offshore" Bryan just managed to catch himself before he said something extremely awkward. Laura looked at him with an expression bordering hate and anguish. "Don't you realize what this King has done to our people?! Don't you know of the cities he's leveled? The villages burned? The masses slaughtered all in the name of his crazed Empire??" Gesturing at the desolate, wretched streets around her, she continued, "Can't you see the families torn apart and the people starving?" The Force hummed around her, and Bryan could almost physically feel the pain she suffered. Laura's feelings blazed with intensity beyond words, while her eyes seemed to struggle with a memory long embedded in her mind.

But she wasn't the only one with a difficult past.

"Yes… I know. I know the pain, the sorrow… the suffering… I know too well." Jumping from his own memory, were the grizzly spectacles of whole worlds burned, entire civilizations razed, and millions of people reaching out for help he couldn't give. "I know only too well…" He met her eyes again and suddenly, almost as though through instinct, he reached out through the Force and tapped her mind. Laura abruptly felt her anger cool by a thousand degrees. Bryan stood and brushed past her. "It doesn't do you well to be anguished all the time… Where's this office again?... I think the Varden have another hand that wants to help"

Laura stared after him, with shock on her face. _What?... just a moment ago, he was… _she watched as he strode past the few people on the street and stepped into the Varden recruiting building. _And how did he know which one was the right building?... I never told him…_ She broke off after him and thought to herself again. _This one's an odd one…_

The Varden Camp, on the outskirts of Fienster

The spares accommodations of the troop tent was something Bryans was already used to. Living in quick-set camps during the Clone Wars was remarkably similar to sleeping the rebel barracks. The 3 men he was sharing his quarters with were named Griun, Thrather, and Yorne. All of them were new recruits, eager and willing to test their mettle against the might of an Empire, but now, all were snoring quietly. Tomorrow was their first day of training. Bryans sat on the edge of his bunk, entranced by the stars. _What have I gotten myself into?..._

The recruits were roused from their tents at 4. A hastily made gruel was eaten and then they were sent on a march. 25 times around the walls of Fienster was a harsh first for many of the young men and women who'd been shopkeepers and tailors and cooks. By the time it came to actual sword training, the recruits were completely depleted. But Bryans was only getting started..

"Alright ye worthless lags, hurry up and grab ye arms. Comon! Get going, everyone form up in partners. You there, you look rather prim for a 5 mile jog, get over here and do as I say." The haggard looking drill sergeant gestured Bryan to move up front.

"Alright, what each of you is holding is a mock-up training sword! We're not letting ye all use real steel or you'd all be dead before the end of this session! Today we're going over a few basic move'ments. You stand in the middle of the ring, you're going try and block my blows using your training sword right? Don't worry bout getting hurt, these are just wooden trainers, so you'll only git a few bruises."

The instructor raised his weapon into a guard position and Bryan moved to do the same. Silence fell among the other trainees. The trainer's face was unreadable and still. But Bryan didn't need to read his opponent's face. He felt the Force nudge him to the left just as the sergeant moved to try a right swing. As his arm passed through the swing, Bryans brought his pole up to block the swipe. Deflecting the trainer's blow, Bryan threw the man's pole back and then swept back into a guard position.

"Eh! So you're not too shabby at this man! Good! Right then, I won't need to bother one of the Guardsmen to come and demonstrate later! I'm going to try several attacks at once now, so try blocking these best ye can!"

Then without pause, the instructor swirled into a fast attack sequence. Twirling his sword, he struck first to the right, the swept back and hit to the left in a maddening fury of blows and cuts. Bryan, guided by the Force and his own years of lightsaber training intercepted every strike without trouble.

"Oho!... It seems you don't really have much to learn from me do ye…" "Bryans Sir,"

"I didn't ask ye name did I? Nevermind. Ok, seeing as to how ye already be good enough at defense, I want ye to try and attack now. I'm goin to assume defense and yer to try and get me at least once."

Bryans raised his pole again and both men got into a guard position. The drill started with deceptive slowness. Time seemed to slow, as Bryan withdrew into the Force. He could sense everything around him as though he was everywhere at once. He anticipated every move the instructor made before it even happened. Blows were exchanged faster and faster as the instructor began to fall back wide eyed. Moving his blade through a spinning left swing, Bryan suddenly jinxed to the right and landed a blow on the man's right arm.

The sergeant yelled as his arm numbed and dropped his sword. "Aha! That was a good fight there lad! Ye even disarmed me too. With some luck, I'd even say you could take on some of our best swordsmen!" The drill instructor looked at Bryan with some admiration, "Well, I can't really teach ye anything I suppose, so I'm going to have ye reassigned to some bow training and then moved out to regular deployment"

Later that day, Bryan was moved from the recruiting camp to a bunk in the 2nd Infantry. His new war had begun.

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Ok, a whole bunch of the strange looking swear words Bryan uses in the chapter are from Mandalorian... just to clarify.

Yeah, I know the Chapter went by fast, but hey, I didn't really have time to burn on it... =( I'll try harder next time (I swear!)

Reviews are fun, and reading them is too. Why don't you try writing one?


	4. Chapter 4: Trial through Steel

Horay! Finally Chapter 4. Took long enough...

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**Outskirts of Alagaësia, two weeks after the Fireball in the Sky and Bryan induction into the Varden…**

The camouflaged men waited in the thicket quietly, the only sounds, the ragged breaths of the nervous, the tired, and the eager. Bryan, having put all his men in position, found himself absentmindedly fiddling with his lightsaber as he watched the path in front of him, keeping a wary eye for the first sign of something amiss. He floated the handle a few inches in the air before him, while keeping a hand on the steel sword buckled to his hip. A primitive and cruel weapon in his views, unlike his saber which was more precise and bloodless, but it was all he would have, until he could find a way to charge his saber in this tech barren land. The Varden had switched to the offensive since the capture of Fienster and were now trying to move beyond it. As such, the foot-soldiers had been slowly advancing into the country around the city for days now.

Suddenly, Bryan sensed a group of minds approaching up the road. Putting his lightsaber away, he silently moved through the underbrush until he reached his Captain. "Captain Sigred Sir, I think there're Imperial Soldiers approaching this way." Bryans quietly whispered. "Really? I don't see anything… but you've always been good with your hunches Bryans, get the word out to the men, and prepare for the ambush."

Galbatorix's Soldiers marched down the road in rigid lockstep. Armored chest plates glistened, spears and swords clinked against an imposing brigade of shields and horses. Intent on reaching Imperial positions by nightfall, they were proceeding in a forced march, single-mindedly striving towards their goal. They did not see the shadows flitting amongst the trees as they passed by. They didn't notice the slight rustling of the brush. They never expected the tree to crash into their way.

_CREEEEAAAAACRACCCCCCCCSSSsKKKKShhhhH_

The massive red-oak, weakened by the axes of the Varden the night before, needed only the slightest push to crush the front line of troops, cutting of the rest. The astonished Imperial Commander looked to his rear only to see more trees fall on his baggage train. Then an arrow slammed into his head and ended all other thoughts he might have had.

"Attaackk!!" Yelled Captain Sigred as the Varden sprang from the underbrush. The surprised caravan clad in heavy armor and armed with long pole-arms and spears, found themselves at a fatal disadvantage in the close quarters of the trees. Rebel swordsmen and archers picked apart the enemy formation with fast lightening strikes. The sounds of clashing steel and screaming men soon filled the still air.

Bryan and his small group had attacked from the rear of the enemy. Tasked with capturing the massive baggage vans that accompanied this group, Bryan rushed towards the last carriage in the caravan. The driver was attempting to dismount and draw his sword when Bryan put him out with a quick jab to his temples. Soldier or not, he was still a Jedi. "Quickly! Restrain the horses and take out the drivers! We need to move fast or the next group will reach us before we've offloaded all the supplies!"

A touch of the Force prompted him to turn and raise his sword just in time to block the thrust of an enemy spearman. He swept the man's spear aside and then struck a blow down the man's torso, cleaving through his armor. "_Osik_! Sithspawn! Griun, get the rest of the carts secured! I'm going to back up the squads holding off the pike-men!"

Byran force-leap over a toppled pile of crates and sprinted into the melee at the front of the band. The Imperials, though disadvantaged and surprised, were holding fast, forming into shield circles to block out the rebel swords. Bryan saw one of the Varden Guardsmen fall to a soldier's spear and ran to take his place. Wrenching a dagger from his belt-sheath, he twirled the weapon and hurled it at the soldier's forehead. The soldier fell with an extra 'ear hole' and opened a gap in the Imperial shields. Bryan leapt through and slashed his sword across the backs of 3 men exposed by their fallen ally. The row of shields began to waver as the men inside tried to turn their ungainly weapons on Bryan. One of the troops, a lieutenant, dropped his pole-arm and tried to draw a short sword hanging at his belt, but Bryan's blade found his head before he got the weapon out of its scabbard, and the lieutenant's body joined those of his men in the dirt.

Laura was watching as Bryan made his run into the enemy lines. _Wow, with only a few weeks training, he's already probably a greater fighter than many of our old hands… I wonder what he really was before he came here… we definitely don't train our sailors to kill as this one does. _

She dodged a blow from a pole-arm and rushed forward, stabbing the man wielding it in the chest with her blade dropping him. The circle she was assaulting was also collapsing, but as she looked around, she noticed the commotion at the last circle. Being the farthest away, the Imperial soldiers had had more time to organize and prepare, forming their barricade and putting out their spears in a defensive wall of steel and spines.

Captain Sigred himself was leading the attack on this last circle and was doing poorly against the manmade porcupine. Charge after charge went against the barricade only to be driven back by the thrusts of the spearmen. Laura sheathed her sword and drew her bow from its case on her back. Notching an arrow, she drew and aimed at the pike-man nearest her. Making a split-second adjustment for wind, she let the arrow fly. The shaft flew through the air and took down the man just as he prepared to stab another Rebel in the side. Captain Sigred noticing the opening jumped in with a yell and cleaved another soldier in the helm. As the man fell, more Varden made their way past the spears and managed to break into the breach, finally breaking the Imperial ranks. The battle was turning.

Yet just as the Imperial footmen began to route, a shout went up from the rear of the caravan. Bryan turned to see a wave of troops swarming over the tree trunks at the end of the trail. "Unfeeling! It's the Unfeeling!" yelled the Guards Magician, Ellra. _Unfeeling? Are these the men who I've heard of that feel no pain and know no mercy?... These are the wretched souls who have given their lives to that cruel master Galbatorix in exchange for fortune, fame, and glory?_ Bryan's men securing the supplies at the end of the van tried to hold off the merciless horde, but broke ranks and retreated back towards the main Guard as the enemy numbers swelled. Bryans noted Yorne limping from a leg wound as he ran back from the carriages.

"Bryans! Our positions are overrun! We must retreat or the Demons will break us!" yelled Griun, panting heavily as he came up to Bryan. As though on cue, Captain Sigred shouted for a retreat as the chilling sounds of hysterical giggling started to saturate the air. The Varden broke ranks and began to make for the cover of the woods, but they were tired and worn from the skirmish and Bryans could tell they wouldn't make it.

Captain Sigred could see that too, and in a bold move yelled "All who despise Galbatorix and his wretched reign, All who fight for not just themselves but the cause of freedom and others, Stand with me! Stand, and hold back the Spawn of Hell!!" A third of the Guard turned and drew their weapons, preparing to face the Imperial shocktroopers to buy time for their friends to run. Bryans looking at the state and numbers of the Guard, looking into the faces of friends and allies in arms, decided that there was no way for any of them to survive. So he took matters into his own hands. Drawing deep into the Force, he broke into a run, charging towards the advancing enemy with impossible speed. Sweeping low along the ground, he snatched up dropped spears as he ran, using the Force to propel them through groups of three and four men at a time, dropping entire lines of soldiers from a distance. Then he was upon the enemy, the flash of blades and the laughter of the insane was all that he knew.

Laura and the rest of the Varden watched in amazement as Byran sprinted in a seemingly suicidal charge into the ranks of the crazed troops. Their amazement turned to incredulity and then exhilaration as they watched the lone man cast down entire hordes of the enemy by himself, fighting with blinding speed and tireless energy. Rallied by the extraordinary efforts of one man, the Varden rear-guard attacked the flustered Men of No Pain. Laura charged a still grinning swords-man in the back and swung a sickening blow that lopped of his arm. The crazed man, still fighting with his other limb managed to sweep his short sword around and cut her cheek before she beheaded him. Wiping a thin trail of blood from her face, Laura jumped over the prone body and ran on into the pitched battle.

By late dawn, the enemy was finally defeated. Galbatorix's forces had been killed to the last man. The forest path, littered with the bodies of both sides returned at last to quiet as the sun fell. She tripped as she bent down to close the eyes of a fallen soldier, only to find a steady hand grasp her shoulder. Jumping, she looked back to see Bryans behind her.

"Woah, watch where you're stepping." She looked at him, searching for some signs of injury, but found surprisingly few. "You're still alive?". He stared at her, "What kind of greeting is that? Unfortunately yes... but only on the outside…"

Laura paused, looking him in the eye, but could tell nothing from the steady brown orbs that looked back "That run was reckless…" He looked away and adjusted his cloak "We're still here aren't we?"

And with that, he turned and walked off on the trail, "Com'on, everyone's already left for Fienster. You don't want to spend the rest of the night here with the dead do you?" Laura got up, and stood for a moment, before walking after him.

Captain Sigred trudged back into the camp headquarters. One day, and already, he'd lost a fourth of his command to the Empire's swords. "Aggghh… what a waste of life… fighting the Empire that never should have been… yet is… How many of us will it take to free this continent from that bastard king..."

"Captain! You made it back!" Roran Stronghammer was striding towards him from the main planning tent.

The tired captain cracked the smallest of smiles at the sight of his friend "Yes… just barely. The enemy surprised us with a heavy contingent of cursed soldiers. We wouldn't have lived if it weren't for that madman Byrans that you brought in. You've killed mountains of men Stronghammer, but today, that lad must'av slain at least several hills of them!"

Roran was surprised, "Really? The lost sailor? Why, he must have trained like a tiger, he doesn't seem like the soldier type."

"He doesn't seem to be many things, yet he is good almost all of them. Including cards… That rascal played me out of several months pay already!" (Bryans has already left the Jedi Council for some time, and with the drastic change in worlds, he's loosened up on some things…) Sigred said with a huff

Just then, the Bryans and Laura walked up through the compound. Roran hailed them with a call, "So soldier, I hear you fought quite the battle today."

Bryans turned at the familiar voice. "Ah! Commander Roran! Captain Sigred! Private Cai reporting sir!". Roran watched as the weary Guard threw a quick salute to the officers before standing at attention, "At ease man, it's been a long day. You can return to your barracks, be ready to deploy against tomorrow."

"Thank you sir", Bryan strode off toward the dark silhouettes of the bunk tents, Roran and Sigred watching as the Jedi walked off. Laura also gave the two commanders a quick salute before following Bryan to the soldiers' quarters.

Sigred started again, "Cai is an extraordinary soldier. He always knows what's going on, always knows what's needed to inspire others." "Characteristics to admire in a man.", Roran stated. "But, the skill he showed today could easily match that of the elves, and even one of them would have thought twice before charging an entire battalion of Galbatorix's mindless henchmen." the captain said with some awe, "I wish I could know some more about him... he seems such a recluse when not on duty..."

"Hmmm… then perhaps I should have Eragon meet with him. Maybe he'll be able to tell more about him." Roran turned to watch as the perimeter guards closed the gates for the night. The stars glistened in the night sky, taking over the darkness as campfires banked down for the next day.

"It's getting worse isn't it? The battles, the fighting, Alagaësia is finally waking up to the war." Sigred murmured as he stood quietly behind the Cousin of the Varden's last Dragon Rider.

"Yes… yes. It is." The hooting of an owl quietly drifted across camp as the last fire was put out. "And we must be the ones to win."


	5. Chapter 5: Fishing Trips and Night Raids

**Horay! I'm back... kinda. **

**Well, the good news is that I am indeed not dead, and still kicking. Writing kindof takes a backseat compared to SAT's and whatnot though, so my chapters will probably take a lot longer to get up now...**

**As with all the others, I own nothing, cept for the terrible characters I've created... blahblah :D**

* * *

Varden Camp, on the West Bank of the Rio Jiet, East of Fienster

"Oy! Get up ya lazy bum! We're supposed to go fishing today dammit! I'm not going to be the one to come back to Sigred and tell him we didn't get any lunch for him!"

Bryan jolted out of bed and raised an arm to block out the glaring light from a lamp floating in the middle of his tent, blinking rapidly in confusion. "what?... Laura? It's 3 in the morning, the sun isn't even up yet, why are you in my tent???"

Laura set down the lantern and poked Bryan in the arm with a fishing pole, "The fishies don't care about when you think it's time to wake up, and they'll be out and about long before the sun comes up! Hurry up!"

Bryans now remembered how he'd foolishly volunteered to collect food yesterday, even though he knew that this crazed sergeant was in charge of provisions. Seeing no way out of this task, and no return to pleasant sleep now, he grudgingly got off his bunk, and pulled on a jacket and pants.

Laura was already waiting outside with rods and buckets. "Fine, I'm up. Where to now?" Bryan glowered at her as he pulled on his boots. Laura handed him a rod, and marched off towards the sound of the river, "To the bank, duh. Where else would we get the fish? Pull them out of thin air?" Bryan threw his rod over his shoulder and followed, mumbling under his breath. _I bet I could if I tried hard enough… _

The bank of the Rio Jiet was only a short walk from the Varden encampment. After following the river upstream for a little while, the pair settled on a fishing location.

Laura tossed her rods down in a heap. "Ok! You find some bait, and I'll find a good spot to start casting."

Bryan looked around at the ground around him. "You mean we didn't bother to grab any bait before we left Camp??"

Laura stopped and looked back at him from a perch she'd found on a rock mid-stream, "What bait? We don't need to get any bait from Camp when there are worms crawling all over this place" She turned back to looking into the water with a mad gleam in her eye.

_This is hopeless. We're standing in the middle of a sand-bank!! There are no worms that live in __**sand**__!!_

Bryans looked around in for a few moments before finally grabbing a bucket and spade then heading off into the woods behind the river.

A few minutes later, he finally came back to the fishing spot with a bucket full of dirt and creepy crawlers. Laura was already fishing with some sort of bait that looked curiously like tree bark.

"Laura, why are you fishing with a piece of bark?" Bryan set down his bucket and picked up his own rod, while staring at the piece of brown floating in the river.

"Because you took too long to get the stupid worms!" She stated, while casting again into the stream. "And it's not bark, it's jerky."

Bryan looked at her in question. "Jerky?... you're going to catch fish with beef jerky? Tell me how that works out, I'm going to use these worms here." He took a worm and stuck it on his hook, carefully wrapping to keep it from escaping.

Picking his way across the streambed, he found a spot just in reach of the deeper portions of the river, then cast his line.

* * *

Laura pulled out the jerky after it'd gotten too soaked to cast anymore. Jumping off the rock, she made her way back to the bucket to find herself a worm. Walking over, she jumped at the sight of Bryan making his way back with a huge fish in his arms. "Whoa!! How'd you catch that whopper so fast?" She demanded as he dumped the fish into yet another one of their buckets. Peering in, she saw 3 more squirming in the bucket along with their new friend. "How did you do that? It's only been half an hour since we got here and already we've got half of all yesterday's catch!" (The company had gone rather hungry yesterday…)

Bryans only gave a small smirk before grabbing another worm and going back to his spot.

Laura followed him as he went; watching him cast his line, then sit down on the bank eyes closed.

"This isn't fishing!! You're taking naps while pretending to get fish!!"

No sooner had she said that when Bryan suddenly opened his eyes and gave a huge tug on his rod. Lunging back, he brought in the stick as far as he could, and then quickly gathered the line. A few more tugs brought in yet another fish.

"How, how did you do that??!? You were practically asleep! I spent hours doing this yesterday and never caught more than 8!! You just brought in like 5 in less than an hour!!" Laura was livid now, between shock and joy.

"These things don't happen!"

Smirking, Bryan hugged the fish and walked back towards the buckets. Laura threw her hands up as she headed after him, "Why do I even bother??"

The sun was still barely up when they returned to camp, several hours before schedule. "Alright, what now?" Bryan asked as they dropped the buckets down at the supply tent and walked back towards the tents.

"Well you're probably hoping to get back to bed, so I'm going to crush all your dreams right now by demanding you explain how you caught so many fish like, that." Laura said pivoted, hands on her hips. Bryan sighed, "I don't think there's anything to explain." He looked up with a sloppy grin, "I'm a sailor. I know how to think like fish!"

Laura stared at him for a moment, mouth set. "That's the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard, and it also doesn't explain all the other strange things you've done. Like that charge you make on the soldiers." She frowned as she pierced Bryan with her gaze, "In fact, the only people I've known do that and _live_ are elves, and Eragon himself." She crossed her legs and waited for an answer.

Bryans watched her as she stood waiting. He couldn't reveal his identity as a Jedi unless he wanted to risk massive culture shock. Sighing again, he scuffed the ground with his boot. "I can't talk about this. I know this doesn't answer anything, but… I can't answer questions about that without causing more questions which I Won't answer." and with that, he turned and walked off.

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Eragon staggered into his tent worn and tired, for what seemed like the sixth day in a row. _Auuuuughh… Stupid scouting flights, what's the point of finding out what the terrain ahead looks like if we're not going to move out anytime soon? I wish I could just get a good night's sleep instead for once…_

Just then another voice interrupted his thoughts

_Wouldn't you rather be out in the air with me, than fat and complacent at home in a tent?_

_Saphira, I highly doubt that I could ever become fat and complacent with the Empire breathing down our necks every day. _

Eragon pulled Brinsingr from its scabbard and hefted it in his hands, the perfectly balanced blade fitting his grip with ease. Watching the blade shimmer in the light brought back memories of adventures that seemed all too long ago.

_Saphira, do you still remember Zar'roc? The times before all this when it'd seemed so simple, save the world, kill the king, get the girl, everything would be fine… Now everything has its counters. Everything needs to be measured, calculated, predicted. Why must this go on?? Sometimes I feel I just want to break out and scream!!_

_Eragon, everything _is_ simple. It might get confusing, and labor-some at times but in the end we are all striving for the same thing, a mutual goal, and as long as that stands, we will go on. Galbatorix must fall._

_But then what?_

Saphira did not answer this for some time. Eragon sat down and sheathed Brinsingr. The shadows slowly crept along the floor as rider and dragon meditated on times to come.

* * *

Murtagh was less than happy about his latest assignment.

_Really Thorn?? A raid party? What kind of joke is this? A simple foot-soldier could carry out this raid, we're not needed for this rot._

_Murtagh, you know the other choice to this would be to sit at the side of his 'Majesty' and listen to his grandeur droll on. _

'Baahhh!' Murtagh snorted as he clutched Thorn's saddle, hair streaming in the wind. The King had planned this attack based on reports that Eragon had moved on to another camp the day before, meaning that there would be no one able to defeat Murtagh in this raid. Below him, the small file of Imperial soldiers rode through the underbrush, making their way towards the Varden lines.

This was only one of several attacks that would be occurring tonight, aimed at slowing the Varden advance so that Imperial Troops could be rallied and put in play. For now, the Empire would have to deal with simply holding off and harassing the Rebels before striking the final blow Galbatorix so dearly wished for.

'Well, if this is what Galbatorix wants, this shall be what he gets… for today…'

_You know that there is no way for us to escape his control Murtagh, We've already tried everything there is…_

_Yes… I know._

Bryan woke up with a jolt. Wide eyed and alert, he scanned the tent and listened for any signs of trouble. There wasn't any particular reason he could see or hear that would have caused this start, but for some reason he could feel a terrible gut-clenching dread. "Shit, why does this always happen to me?"

Stumbling outside after grabbing his sword and hiding his saber in his coat, he briskly walked to the outer perimeter guard.

'Hey, Guirder, have you seen anything strange about?...' The guard at the wall squinted down at him through the darkness. 'Bryans?... what's wrong? Did you hear som' SHHHTunk!!!! Guirder toppled from the wall with an arrow in his throat.

'What, Osik!!' Bryans yelled out as a massive red dragon roared over the perimeter wall blasting fire across the frantic guards.

Ripping his sword from his side, he clambered onto the lookout and swept through the first wave of soldiers storming the wall. Cutting down a man using a grappling hook, he reached the alarm bell and rang it like mad.

BRING, BRING, BRING, BRING

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Laura was awake and ready before the bell even stopped. Slinging her bow and quiver across her back, she grabbed her shaska and rushed outside. Looking to the front of the camp, she saw a tide of Imperial troops rushing the embankments and a giant red beast was attacking the officers' quarters, ripping through tents and burning the running figures. A rising wave of screaming was rolling towards her. As she ran towards the center of camp, she noted with surprise a lone figure standing on the top of the eastern wall locked in combat with a host of Galbatorix's men. _Holy Mother of God, that's Bryans again… what's he doing up there by himself??_

The yelling men were swarming over the barricades with an unstoppable mass. Every one that Bryan cut down was seemingly instantly replaced by another and soon the heap of bodies would make grappling lines and ladders unnecessary. Steel flashed against steel, the ringing clash so deafening that all other sounds were drowned out. His sword soon became rent with notches that it was no longer straight enough to have fit into its scabbard. 'HYYYYIIAAAA!!' A giant man wielding a mace leaped onto the platform, running towards him. With his sword deformed beyond recognition he had no chance of stopping a mace. 'Hold this.' Bryan turned and ran his weapon through a still living man without a right arm. Using the Force to pull a spear from a dead soldier next to him, he hurled the weapon with such speed that it whistled as it shot past him and threw the man back over the edge of the wall. Checking for any other enemies around, he grabbed an abandoned blade from the ground and ran towards the next wall section.

Murtagh looked down at the battle from his perch high above. _Thorn, is it just my eyes, or has our assault on the East wall been pushed back?_

_No, it has… strange, I did not see that many Varden forces in that area at the beginning of the attack. How did they manage to push back our troops?..._

Murtagh scanned the base of the dark wall, calling up a spell to help him see through the shadows and shrubs.

'There! A single man! Ha! What a fighter he must be to have been able to defeat so many! Finally this day has become interesting!' With a terrible war cry, Murtagh and Thorn dove out of the sky straight at a lone Jedi.


	6. Chapter 6: Jedi vs Dragon

**Shortly after the Rise of the Empire, the Woriane System, now under Imperial occupation.**

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'Captain Hans, do you know why you have been summoned?' The silent figure standing on the top of the command bridge did not turn as he addressed the captain. _Well, a lot has changed in just a few months_ thought Hans as he regarded the uniformed Admiral.

'Yes sir, Admiral. You've requested that I send a team out to capture the Jedi Cai.' _Like that'll happen after I scrambled the fleet recording of Bryan's jump coordinates…_

'Yes indeed Captain, I like a man who's aware of what he needs to do.' The officer turned as he spoke now, watching his inferior below him. 'After the vermin managed to escape from your hanger bay, destroying quite a number of ships and personnel in the process, I can imagine you would like some revenge Captain? My orders are from Lord Vader himself, and he has asked me to send my best men after this delinquent to bring him to _justice_.' The man continued on with a drawl. _Justice? Ha, like there'll be any of that here… _thought Hans as he listened on to the briefing.

'I want you to take a unit of your finest close-combat troops and follow the Jedi's jump coordinates; I want no chance of the man escaping this time. The debacle in the hanger and similar occurrences elsewhere has shown the weakness of our normal clones against his kind and their lightsaber tricks.' The Admiral turned away once more looking out the view port as a cruiser crossed in front of the bridge, beginning planetary bombardment of Woriane. 'Failure in this venture is not an option. Vader has threatened the death of any that return without the heads of their prey. It would be better to die at the hand of the enemy rather than return and face our Lord's wrath. See to it that you do not fail. Dismissed.' Hans turned from the Admiral and the sickening scene of destruction playing out before him, and walked off the bridge. _I think it's high time that we joined our Jedi-boy in exile… I'm not sure if this is an Empire that I would be proud to serve anytime soon._

'You ready to make the jump Captain?' Switch asked from the cockpit of the corvette as Captain Hans conferred with Lec from the navigation board. 'Yeah Switch, in a sec, I've got some new coordinates I want to lock in though.' Switch took off his helmet and turned to look back into the Nav room. 'What do you mean sir? Aren't these the points fleetnav gave us?' Hans turned back from the numbers flowing across the screen for a moment, 'Yeah, and I'm absolutely sure that they're wrong.' Switch turned back again and sagged in his chair, 'Great… well, it wouldn't be the first time fleetnav's been wrong…'

Hans looked back to the console again, smirking at the clone's remark. More than once, faulty coordinates from Intel had led to several _intense_ situations. 'Lec, can you pull up the actual video's I'd saved of Bryan's flight right before the jump?' Lec, the crew's tech officer who's name was actually short for 'electrocute' after a rather comical accident involving a malfunctioned battle droid and a broken water flask, coughed and stated, 'Can a Hutt recline? I've already plotted his actual trajectory ten minutes ago while you were checking the thruster banks' Grinning, Hans punched the trooper's shoulder, 'Well then, lets get going. And make sure you broadcast the fake signals to Fleet Control, I don't plan on coming back.'

* * *

Varden Forward Camp, during Imperial Night Raid

-----

Bryans could hardly believe his luck today. First, he was woken rather rudely at 3 in the morning to go on a fishing trip, and now, he was being charged by a flaming dragon ridden by a madman with a massive sword in hand. 'So you must be the one who defeated our eastern charge! At last, I've found something Fun to do today!' yelled the man as he leaped off the back of the red dragon and landed before him.

_Yoda always said that the Force is always with you… so I guess in this case; it's gotta be the Dark Side that's with me. _Twirling his 'borrowed' blade above him, he took up a defensive stance, and dove back into the Force.

Murtagh grinned as he regarded the soldier facing him. The darkness made most of his features indistinguishable, but he could feel the hum of magic inside this one. This would be Fun. _Murtagh, I can sense this one's presence, but somehow… it's almost as though he's not there. Like looking into a mirror that reflects everything around it._

_Intresting, is this some sort of technique taught by the Varden? Hmmm… maybe perhaps even Eragon himself. It will be a joy to defeat this one!_

Grasping Zar'roc with one hand, he drew out a crackle of lightning with the other and blasted a tree besides him. 'Now then soldier you've impressed me with your skills, so I'll give you two choices: Surrender and maybe I'll let you join my command, or fight and die slowly. It's your choice'

Bryan could only stare back at the menacing figure before him. The power this individual held could be compared with to that of the Chosen One himself, but it stank of the Dark Side. _This man is not someone I would like to cross…_ But around him, the sounds of battle raged, and the cries of his friends rang out. There was only one choice he could take. Raising his sword, he charged.

Murtagh sensed the man tense before him, considering his words. Then, with the fluidity of decision, he charged. _Grand, now the fight begins._ Raising Zar'roc, he swept his blade down and expected to slice through the other's blade. But to his surprise, before he made contact, the soldier was gone, having side-stepped to the right and flipping across his head. _That was as fast as an elf. I wonder how this man has trained. _Turning just as quickly, he slid Zar'roc around his side and parried a blow from the other's sword and pushing him back a step with the force of his counter. _So his strength is still just about that of a normal man, but his speed and reactions are far superior…_

Bryans drew back his blade in a guard position, glancing down at the metal to see a massive dent its side. _Come-on, I just got this sword too… _Wary of the dragon at his back, he paced around his opponent, putting himself on the other side the beast, which thankfully, seemed to be occupied with the Varden archers at the moment. _Maybe, if I tried throwing some things…_

Murtagh barely managed to duck as a massive tree-trunk suddenly flew out of the wall lining and splintered with a massive CRACK against one of his wards. 'Damn! That almost took off my head!' Glancing over at the Varden, he squinted. _I didn't even feel anything warning me of that. This man has the strangest mind barriers I've ever seen… not trying to keep me out, but not letting anything be known either…_ 'Playing catch? Well, two can play at that game.' Calling up a few words of magic, he ripped apart a section of the perimeter wall and levitated it in the air. 'Heh, catch.'

-----

Laura swung her sword and cut into a soldier's chest at the hilt, pulling the specially formed shaska back and cleaning slicing through the man's chestplate. Kicking the corpse back, she looked around for more troops. !!CRRREEAAACCKKkkkk!! Startled, she looked over at the east wall and was amazed to see a section of it rise up and circle like a tornado. Looked down at the ground below she spotted the enemy rider facing off against another man in Varden garb. _He's in for it now…_

Bryans could not believe his eyes. First, the other man had not even strained to block his speeder sized wood-block and now he'd just ripped up an entire section of wall without any visible effort and was sustaining it in the air. 'Shab…'

BLAM KREAAAKK THUDDdd!!!! Pieces of wood began to hurl themselves his way. Using the Force to dodge some, he swung at the smaller pieces with his blade, trying to bat them away. Whap. A medium sized piece whipped his blade away and in desperation, Bryans reached into the Force and used it to blast up and over the tornado of swirling wood, jumping off whirling pieces. Reaching into his coat, he drew his saber and ignited it, its familiar blue glow humming like an old friend in a rather sticky situation. In spite of the gravity of the situation, he couldn't help but wonder, _I wonder how I'm going to explain this one later on…_

Murtagh watched the other man jump a seemingly impossible height after losing his sword and draw out some sort of magical blade that spouted blue flame. _I remember hearing Eragon had a new sword that glowed with blue fire, but I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have given it to someone else for a day…_ Dropping his hold on the logs, he redrew Zar'roc and leaped to meet his foe on the ground.

Laura watched the Varden figure leap almost 5 stories _over_ the storm of wood, and draw a strange blue weapon. _I have no idea who that is, but I sure would like to know._ Yelling out to the rest of her squad, she ran towards the crazed duel drawing her bow. Whoever he was, he would still need help taking down Murtagh.

Landing hard on his feet and one hand, Bryan raised his saber and spotted Murtagh sprinting after him, moving incredibly fast. Drawing the Force around him and through him, he blasted towards him, twirling his blade in a complex attack pattern. The simmering blue light formed mesmerizing patterns in the dark, drawing Varden and Imperial alike towards the strange duel. Murtagh met Bryan in the middle of the destroyed wall section, crashing Zar'roc into the blue blade with bone jarring force. _That sword has to be made of Mandalorian Iron, there's no way it could've stood my saber otherwise!_ Pushing the Jedi back, Murtagh pressed his advantage in strength, matching his opponent blow for blow. Bryans tried to use his Force premonition to the fullest, drawing the stronger man through the remains of the wall, dropping pilings on him, leading him around collapsed supports and over piles of logs.

_He's biding for time, trying to keep me here long enough for Eragon or elven relief forces to arrive. It's time to throw another twist into this._ _Thorn! _Bryans heard a massive roar and glanced up, seeing a huge shape drop out of the sky. A huge tail swung out of nowhere and crushed him against a broken strut of wood, knocking stars into his view. His saber flew out of his hand and rattled somewhere into the darkness. _Shabu'droten Dragon…_

Murtagh sheathed Zar'roc and strode over to the ragged figure. _Hummmpp, this is the fighter that you were getting all excited to face? He's no more than a hatchling. _Thorn hummed as he knocked over a leaning section of wall.

'It's not always size or strength that makes a challenge Thorn. Now, let's end what we started.' Moving closer, Murtagh raised Zar'roc for the final blow. _If he was really that great of an opponent should you not let him live?_ Murtagh hesitated for a split second, all the time Bryan needed pull his last trick.

Sensing the man hesitate for just a second Bryans whipped his hand onto the other mans forehead and pierced the man's mind for just a moment, before the other could react. Feeling the conflict of emotions and moods play around him like a wildfire of hate, revenge, and madness, rotten and rancid, he knocked it aside, and suddenly realized that not all of it was actually Murtagh's. Flowing through his mind he pushed deeper and suddenly stumbled in the darkness upon a spot of light. Not knowing exactly what he was doing anymore, Bryans pulled all his remaining strength, gathering all the light and compassion around him and channeled it through his arm for a final push, blasting Murtagh's mind with light.

Laura and her unit stumbled back as a searing ball of light blazed out from the clearing in which the pair had clashed. She put her arm over her eyes and tried to shield her vision from the rapid adjustment in brightness. The light was big enough to momentarily turn the camp into a scene almost of daylight and then slowly faded away, dragging the shadows back into place. 'Gods what was that??' members of the Varden gasped and murmured as they crept towards the ruined perimeter wall.

Bryan groaned and pulled himself to his feet, rubbing his back where it had slammed into the pole. Looking over at Murtagh, he saw the other man on one knee with a hand on his head, a blank stare on his face. He could feel almost none of the darkness that had permeated his being before, and now could only feel a slight tendril of peace. _Woah… did I just… heal him? Well, whatever I just did, I'm pretty sure he still won't be giving out hugs after he gets his sense back._ Not willing to take any chances, he felt through the rubble with the Force and called back his lightsaber, then sprinted across the rubble and back towards Varden lines.

* * *

_Emotion, yet peace._

_Ignorance, yet knowledge._

_Passion, yet serenity._

_Chaos, yet harmony._

_Death, yet the Force._

Thorn felt the mind of his Rider suddenly flooded with a strange… light? It was as though all the hope and mercy in the world had been poured into his being and everything else had evaporated. The light flowed across their mental link and then drained into his mind as well, and to his shock, he felt his very soul changing within him. The liquid gold poured in the cracks and melted through the walls that years under Galbatorix's iron hand had created and molded them back into place, but it didn't just stop there. The light continued on and changed even more, adding sections that were never there, and deleting others that had once existed. Thorn hummed quietly to himself as he pondered these changes within him. _…It's all changed… This hatchling indeed is a foe to reckon with, to wield such powerful magic as this. No, not a foe. I cannot consider one such as this an enemy… _

Murtagh had gasped as the other man's hand slammed into his temple, wondering how his wards had been pierced so easily. _No one should be able to do that! Not aft…_ and then the light hit him full on. For a millisecond he had thought it was some sort of physical attack, with fire or light, but then he felt the presence in his mind, one he could hardly comprehend. An incredible feeling of serenity fell upon him, he could scarcely believe such a feeling could be possible with his life the way it was. For the first time in many years, Murtagh was feeling peace. Everything else suddenly took second priority.

When the Imperial Colonel reached him, he had already collected his thoughts, but still, the feeling of calm remained. 'Sir!' the sweat slicked man panicked, and stumbled, 'We have to call a retreat now! Our attack has faltered and the losses at the East wall have destroyed our chances at winning!' The officer suddenly remembered the man he was talking to, had a well known tendency to kill those who caught him in a rage and cringed, shying back a few steps. 'Forgive me my Lord, but…' Then, to his surprise, the rider did not fly into madness. In a low, calm voice he said, 'It's alright Colonel. Call your men back, we'll not be needing to waste any more lives here today. Our job has been done.' Murtagh offered a hand to the kneeling soldier. The man, shocked by the unexpected change of personality, cautiously grasped his hand, and got to his feet. 'Ye-yes Sir!' Running off, he called out to his subordinates sounding the call for retreat. Murtagh turned to his dragon and asked, _Thorn am I addled in the head, or has…_

_I feel it too little one, the change. Whatever that was, it has altered our very beings… I believe we are no longer entirely what we were before… thought to what extent I cannot tell._

_Does this mean that possibly… they have been altered too?_

_I wish I could tell… _Murtagh leapt on Thorn then Rider and Dragon flew into the sky and circled the battlefield once, Varden arrows glancing off their wards, before turning and streaking north.

* * *

**Space above Alagaesia, just past midnight, planetside.**

**----  
**

The stars warped and twisted as a small corvette hurled into real-space. In the cockpit, Captain Hans and Switch manned the consoles, fingers already skittering over scanning sensors and data readouts. 'Any sign of the General's ship Switch?' Hans asked as he mulled over the corvette's supply charts. Switch tapping the scanner controls, replied voice even, 'No sir, the scanners aren't picking up any recent ion trails and the last traces of any were over 10 months ago, too distorted to interpret.'

'Ah… well, I never said this would be easy. Check the planet for signs of life. Maybe the General landed there and went to ground amongst the native if there are any.'

Switch scanned over the readouts again. 'Sensors read several human civilizations on the planet. Not much farther than bows and arrows in technology, but still rather organized. Evidence of seafaring experience and several major population areas... and, wait. I'm picking up metallic wreckage off the coast of one of the major continents. Far too advanced alloys for any native civilization. Looked like a crashed CR-20 sir. Pulling up the view now.'

A hologram of a wrecked ship popped up on the projector between the copilot's seat and the navigator's station. The engine blocks were torn off the vessel and lay scattered along the seabed, the main cabin rested hull deep in mud. 'That looks like the ship.' mused Hans. 'But I don't think the General's been using it anytime soon.'

'It's hard to believe anyone could've survived a crash like that sir, the entire front of the pilot cabin's been crushed into the passenger compartment.'

'Well, we're not turning back, so we might as well go planet-side and look around for a bit. Trust me, I know this Jedi, and I wouldn't be so sure as to write him off so soon.' Hans leaned back in his seat and grinned a little. 'None of the Seppies that did can vouch for that, but that's only cause they're all dead. Get the boys in the back suited up, I want us down and the ship covered before the sunrise.'

* * *

Haha! Another update! Bryan might be getting a lot of questions after his performance this chapter… Yes, I know that the version of the Jedi Code up there is a little odd, but look it up, it's actually the original version, before some Master offered an edited version of it. I think this one sounds better personally.

If anyone wants to know, most of the words Bryans uses in the middle of battle etc are Mandalorian curses… a list of them is here:

Chakaar - Literally meaning "thief" or "grave robber," but used as a general insult. Chakaare in plural form (Republic Commando: Triple Zero).

Dar'yaim - Literally Mandalorian for "not home," it is the equivalent of "hell" in some dialects ("Mandalorians: Culture and Language," Star Wars Insider #87).

Di'kut - Mandalorian for a fool. Di'kute in plural form; di'kutla in adjective form (Republic Commando: Hard contact, "Omega Squad: Targets" Insider #81).

Haran - A derogatory term, literally translating as "cosmic annihilation," as in, "Our industrial infrastructure is still shot to haran after ten years" (Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice).

Hut'uun - Mandalorian for coward. Hut'uune in plural form; hut'uunla adjective form. (Republic Commando: Triple Zero).

Osik - Mandalorian for feces (Republic Commando: Triple Zero).

Osik'la - Something that is badly screwed up or disgusting, from the root osik (Republic Commando: Triple Zero). See also shabiir.

Osi'kyr - An exclamation (Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice).

Shab - An extremely harsh curse. More or less the Mandalorian equivalent of the "F" word, it is the root for several other Mandalorian insults (Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice).

Shabiir - To badly screw up, from the root shab (Republic Commando: Triple Zero).

Shabla - A derogatory modifier, from the root shab (Republic Commando: Triple Zero).

Shabu'droten - A curse, from the root shab, roughly translating as, "F***ing people" (Republic Commando: Triple Zero).

Shabuir - A harsh insult, from the root shab (Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice).

Shebs - Mandalorian for one's posterior. Plural shebse (Republic Commando: Hard Contact, Triple Zero).

Usenye - A very rude expression, from the same root as osik, meaning "go away" (Republic Commando: Triple Zero).


	7. Chapter 7: Explanations

Another Chapter, another few... months(?) later... haha, wow, I'm a bum.

Once more, I own nothing but a few crappy characters.

**The City of Fienster, current Headquarters of the Varden Resistance**

----------------

Laura was shivering by the time the Council Meeting was over.

The weather wasn't particularly cold that day, there was a brisk sea breeze coming in from the ocean, but it wasn't uncomfortable. The circumstances under which she was here however, were more than discomforting. She stared at the horizon, watching as the ocean passed endlessly by. The view reminded her of the scenes she once saw everyday as a child and she looked away before the ghosts of that time came back.

The doors to the closed chamber finally opened with a flood of people which slowly trickled into different directions, spacing out with a sense of overwhelming excitement. But at the back of the chamber still remained three, who were in deep conversation. Frowning slightly she slipped through the murmuring crowd and into the still warm chambers.

Walking to the one she'd thought she knew best, Laura grasped Bryan by the shoulders and turned him around, demanding, 'Is what you told the council… is it all true?' Her eyes were wide, her face a swirl of emotion.

Bryans had already known who it was, and sagged under her hold, looking straight back into her eyes, 'Every word...' He continued with determination. 'I didn't mean to keep it from anyone, but I just… didn't… I thought it seem like I was insane.' he finished lamely.

She looked him for a moment and he could feel the whirlwind of anger and sorrow in her, before she turned and walked out of the chambers, never looking back. Bryan could only watch as she ran off, feeling the sudden pain left in the Force in her wake. Turning to the other two with him, he asked, lost, 'What did I do?...'

Eragon listening to the Jedi before him could only shake his head. He already knew what was bothering Laura from his constant interpretation of the minds around him and knew from his own experiences that it would be better for the man to sort this out himself. 'You should go talk with her later.' He told him quietly.

'But not at the moment,' stated the other person with them. Arya had only just met the so called 'magician from another world' but she could already see that this man could be a pivotal figure in their cause to over-throw the Mad King. 'I've already sent one of our fastest Elven scouts to go and inform Queen Islanzadí of your… revelations, and I'm sure the dwarves have done something similar. While it will take time, Galbatorix will definitely learn too, of your existence and will attempt to do something about it. Most likely attempt to kill you…' Arya paused for a moment, face unreadable in thought, then started again 'While the Council has determined your narrations to be true beyond a doubt, I do wish to test the actual limits of your physical and magical prowess.'

Bryan winced at the thought of this. For most of the day, he had been under the constant scrutiny of a literal horde of 'magicians' prying his mind for clues and bits of memories to verify the tale he'd been forced to tell a day prior to explain his… encounter with Murtagh. Spending another few hours sparring would not improve this day at all. Turning to Eragon, he saw a sliver of a smile on the other's face and knew that his fate for today was decided already. Oh well, maybe it would help him relieve some of this stress.

'I'm curious to see the extent of you skills too Bryan, it's not every man who manages to face off against my Half-brother and live to tell the tale.' Eragon said with a grim grin.

_Will you babbling fools hurry it up in there? I've been out here for at least an hour after the scheduled end time for the meeting and I swear I shall knock over something important if you hatchlings do not come outside!_

Bryan was momentarily stunned by the outburst in his mind, but relaxed after he remembered who it was. Arya took the lead and started outside with Bryan and Eragon trailing in her wake. The sun was beginning its trail down the sky and the fishing boats were beginning to make their way back into port. Bryan looked out over the wharfs just a few meters away from the path they were traveling on and relaxed in the calm he felt. It literally had been several months since he'd had time to simply sit and think. It seemed almost surreal.

The small group made its way to the Varden training fields set up a little outside the city walls. Though the day was drawing to a close, there still remained many figures out in the fading sunlight, twisting and turning, locked in mock combat that soon could become all too real. Many paused in their motions to watch as the Rider, Elf, and Jedi came past, striding towards an unoccupied training pen near the end of the field.

'Is that Eragon?' 'Woah, look, its one of the Elves.' 'Who's that with them? I haven't seen him before around here.' 'Lord! It's the man from the attack on our North Camp!' The whispers follow the trio like a wave lapping against their ears.

Eragon reached the circular pen formed by the wooden fencing first and turned to face Bryans. 'I believe that it would be best to first begin with unarmed combat, then progress on to swordsmanship and lastly, magic.'

'I prefer to call it the Force, if you do not object, but sure. I find this order fair.' Bryans drew off the robes he had chosen to wear before the Council and removed his lightsaber from his belt. Placing both in a bundle at the edge of the ring, he swung himself over the wooden wall and landed in the ring lightly. Leaning against the wall he took a breath and cleared his mind, bathing in the peace of the afternoon while it lasted.

Eragon looked over to Arya, as Bryan prepared himself in the ring. 'Would you rather go first, or shall I?' he posed, as he watched her emerald eyes flash in the sunset.

'I suppose that it would be a more effective test if I engage in the hand to hand. You are currently the better swordsman.' Arya stated evenly. She also dropped the robe that she had worn to the meeting, revealing the plain black leather that she usually wore. Dropping into the ring with the grace of a cat, she walked up to Bryans and tapped him on the shoulder. 'Are you ready, Jedi?'

Bryans opened his eyes as he came out of his meditative stance, calm and collected. 'Yes, I'm ready.'

Arya turned and paced backwards a few steps, evening the space in the circle and raised her arms in a fighting stance. 'Very well, starting with basic fighting techniques would be pointless as you've already been proven capable of those through training, so I will go directly to advanced combat. Shall we begin?'

Bryans stepped forwards away from the wall and dropped into his own stance, arms stretched before him, mind set in the Force. He remembered the numerous lessons with Master Geirm back on the Jedi Temple in what seemed like so long ago, the long hours spend sparring with his friends and Master before the War had begun. But those times were long gone now, and the Jedi, a thing of the past. He focused on the task at hand. 'Alright. Let's start.'

Arya studied her opponent for a moment. She noted the position of his arms, out before him, raised in a position that allowed fast response to any attack she could throw from the front. His feet were still, but ready, keeping off the heels yet not tense. His face showed nothing but calm, patiently, waiting for a strike. Well then, if he was waiting for an attack she would indulge him.

Eragon watched as both opponents sized each other up for a moment. Arya, with her flowing agility and Elven strength could defeat most opponents he had encountered, but Bryan was a wild-card. He had personally only heard of his abilities and the accounts had been very sketchy as to what he was actually capable of. He was hoping this would turn out to be an interesting fight.

Suddenly Arya made the first move. With speed that some onlookers almost couldn't see, Arya darted to Bryans left and struck with a blow that would have put out any normal man. But with an even more unbelievable speed, Bryans had already ducked below her swing and swept his foot around in a fast kick at her legs. Arya danced over his kick and replied with one of her own, shooting a boot at his head.

In motion before the kick had even started, Bryans rolled under her leg and ended up in a crouch at the opposite end of the ring fists up again.

All of this occurred in the span of a few seconds. The watchers were staring mouth agape, some hadn't even seen what had happened and only knew that the opponents were now suddenly at opposite side of the arena.

Eragon chuckled as he watched the events unfold, the hint of a smile tugging at the edges of his mouth. Not bad for a start.

Now, Bryans began an offensive. Using his crouch as a jumpstart, he shot towards Arya with a punch that he pulled off as a feint and then returned with a whirling kick from the other side. Arya blocked his kick with a forearm and then tried to flip him with his leg.

Instead of resisting the flip, Bryans used the Force to accelerate her pull and hurled upwards past her and landed behind her, one arm flung out for balance. Arya with blinding speed whipped back towards him with her own kick, lashing out towards his chest. Bryan let the Force guide him once more, leaping over her kick and then with a Force Push, propelled himself while still in the air at Arya's torso.

Seeing his knee coming towards her, Arya twisted her upper body down like a contortionist in mid-routine, causing Bryan to sail over her and land skidding once again, a few feet behind her. Up on his feet before most men could blink, the Jedi had already anticipated Arya's next strike. Her fists flashed like lightning before his eyes, but with reflexes good enough to block bullets, this was hardly problem for him. The fight swerved from side to side but neither seemed to be gaining any advantage. The pounding of fists soon melded into a timeless flow as motions blended together.

Finally, after about half an hour, though it seemed much longer to those who had gathered to watch and those doing the actual fighting, Eragon finally stopped them.

With a wide grin now on his face he jumped over the fence and strode over to the two still panting fighters, 'Alright Bryan, I'm sure from the demonstration that you are sufficiently versed in hand to hand combat. Now, you must be tired from your day, so we shall hold off on the other tests until tomorrow.'

Bryans breathed a sign of relief. 'Thanks, I think I'm going to need it...'

**Later that Night, near the Fienster City Walls…**

* * *

The briefest touch was all that he'd felt. But it was all that he'd needed. Bryans hadn't felt the touch of a clone mind for months, but its unmistakable feel was one he would never forget. If there were Clones on-planet searching for him, no-one would be safe.

He had to find them first.

Laura woke drenched in sweat. It'd been so long, but now the dreams had started again. She thought that after the first few days back with the Varden would put an end to them, but they hadn't gone away, and not until a year later, had they finally ended. But now they were back.

It always started the same way. The same way it'd happened more than a year and a half ago.

_She arrived at home to see her parents frantically packing everything in the house. 'What's going on father?' she'd asked only to be told to quickly go upstairs and see if her sisters were done. When everyone was finally assembled in the sitting room, her father finally addressed them all. _

_'Alright girls, your mother wanted me to keep this from you, to protect you from anything that might have happened, but I believe the time is long past when the knowledge would hurt you. In fact, not knowing now, will.' her father paused, the air seemed to grow heavy with the silence. 'For a few years now, some other merchants and I have been helping the Varden cause.' There was an even greater silence now. Fear, anger, betrayal, and sadness all ran through the room. But not another word was spoken. Her father sighed, and picked up a sack. 'We'd better go.'  
_

_A few minutes later, her family was hurrying along the streets of Tierm at night, silently making its way past the city walls, which had been left open by a guard who'd owed her father several favors. They escaped off into the darkness, away from the warmth and light of her home and friends. She'd never see them again._

_A few days later, they'd linked up with several other families who'd also escaped the city just before the Imperial Inquisition had swept through, taking away any who remained that had helped the Varden cause. Together, they hoped to reach the Varen Stronghold in Farthen Dûr. But they never got there._

_She couldn't do anything to help, couldn't do anything but watch as the Urgals slaughtered the few people she had loved and trusted. Friends, family, no-one was left. She saw her father, his proud face covered in blood staring back at her from the ground below. Run… he mouthed, just before an Urgal axe took off his head… _and that's always how it ended.

When she finally make it to the Varden with the few survivors, she had trouble making close friends for a long time, keeping only to herself and her dreams. Only when she'd been assigned to Sigred's command had the grizzled veteran finally cracked some of the shell that she'd built around herself.

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed Laura cradled her head in her hands and groaned. Bryan had been one of the few that she'd let into her small circle of people she considered her friends, she'd never met anyone like him before, he seemed so... different from everyone else she knew. But his sudden revelations had eerily reminded her of... well, of her dreams.

_Come on girl, you're too old to get scared by nightmares now, _and yet even as she told herself that, she shivered from the memory of her father's face. Maybe some fresh air would do her good. Putting on a pair of pants over her sleeping shorts, she pushed aside her tent flap and stumbled outside.


End file.
